The Top Ten issues at GA – #7 Assembly to look at realignment of GA, Book of Order revisions By Paula R. Kincaid The Layman Online Friday, June 11, 1999 FORT WORTH – A proposed realignment of the Presbyterian Church (USA) bureaucracy and proposed Book of Order revisions combine as the seventh-ranked issue coming before the 211th General Assembly in Fort Worth. The realignment A report from the Special Committee for Review of the General Assembly calls for the formation of a 21-member Council of the Assembly, which would replace the Committee of the Office of the General Assembly, with Stated Clerk Clifton Kirkpatrick as head of staff. The GAC would be renamed the Mission Agency, with John Detterick as executive director. The proposed Council of the Assembly would have 21 members and would be responsible for the administrative duties of the GAC. The proposed Mission Agency would be the same size as the current GAC, but the report calls for a possible reduction in two years. The agency would be responsible for coordinating the mission program of the Assembly and would be the board of directors of the Presbyterian Church (USA), A Corporation. The report includes a plan for the transition of the current boards to the proposed boards; a plan for resolving disputes between interagency entities; and changes that would be needed in the Book of Order. Book of Order revisions The Advisory Committee on the Constitution will present three alternatives to the Assembly regarding future work, if any, on the revision of the Book of Order's Form of Government. The ACC recommends the GA select one of the alternatives. The recommendation is in response to a 1993 referral that the Form of Government be condensed, "… reducing procedural and regulatory provisions, allowing greater flexibility in responding to the needs of the people of God and shall emphasize that which is foundational." A task force, appointed in 1996, based its work on definitions later approved by the 1997 GA of the three basic elements of the Form of Government: foundational material, binding policies and advisory practices. Foundational material contains concepts and principles that have developed in the PCUSA as a part of the Reformed tradition. Once approved, foundational material could only be amended by a two-thirds majority vote of the General Assembly and of the presbyteries. Binding policies are policies that apply the foundational principles. Once approved, they could be amended only by a majority vote of the GA and the presbyteries. Advisory practices permit the whole church to seek unity without requiring uniformity. The General Assembly will approve administrative procedures intended for churchwide application. When the definitions were applied to the Form of Government, a document about the same size as the existing text was produced. Foundational principles and binding policies are arranged in parallel columns. Advisory practice is placed at the end of each chapter and referenced to earlier material. Three alternatives The alternatives coming before the Fort Worth GA are: Alternative one recommends that the GA authorize the ACC to continue working on the revision and revise the definition of binding policy to read, "Binding Policies implement Foundational Principles. They provide structure, forms and processes which reflect the historically developed wisdom of the church. By accepting membership and office, members and officers voluntarily submit to these standards and practices." Alternative one also asks the GA to authorize the ACC to "rewrite current mandated binding policies as advisory practice where the language is clearly intended to describe advisable practice that is not necessarily to be uniform throughout the church;" and to authorize funds for the task force to continue meeting. Alternative two is based on a second draft by the ACC and recommends the GA authorize the ACC to continue working on the second revision and to revise the definition of binding policy to read, "Policies and Procedures implement Foundational Principles. They provide structure, forms and processes which reflect the historically developed wisdom of the church. Policies and Procedures provide a degree of uniformity in practice, but may also provide a variety in practice in response to local circumstances. Therefore, it is incumbent on presbyters through prayer and deliberation to decide how Foundational Principles will be implemented. By accepting membership and office, members and officers voluntarily submit to these standards and practices." Alternative two changes Advisory practice to Guidelines and Forms. (Found in a separate document). The definition states, "The church may seek unity without requiring uniformity, guidelines and forms are prepared and approved for use by the church. These documents may be copied or modified as a governing body finds them useful." The alternative also requests additional funding be made available. Alternative three recommends that if the GA wants to end the project, then the Foundational section of the draft revision of the Form of Government be published as a study resource, that the ACC be discharged from the referral, and the task force dismissed.

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